First, let me point out that this idea was brought up to me by the Merc’s Dan Brown, who is writing several major stories in the build-up to the 49ers-Green Bay playoff game and yet had the wherewithal to think of several others that could’ve been...

Which got my attention, and got me typing.

–Actually, let me point out that I figure many 49ers fans will dislike this item, possibly intensely. They will say it’s irrelevant, that I’m dumb for bringing it up, and then it will collapse into the normal Alex-vs.-Colin-vs.everybody-vs.-me screeching that is occurring on a regular basis these days when any 49ers topic is raised.

–But I’m just tossing something else out there because sometimes it’s interesting to spin reality just a few degrees and take a look at the things and events that just missed happening. That helps clarify our current view of things, maybe.

Anyway… Alex Smith has been one of the constants of the Bay Area sports landscape since his arrival more than 7 years ago, and he’s surely the most news-making figure over that period. That’s not arguable.

His up-down-down-down-up-purgatorial 49ers career has crashed against a lot of interesting issues and foils, and, as luck would have it, several of those foils are sitting there in the playoff field currently.

But Smith is no longer the 49ers’ starting QB, of course. The QB is Colin Kaepernick and this is now his 49ers QB story, not anybody else’s.

Yes, Kaepernick is immensely fascinating in his own right, but without the history and the foils and intrigue of Smith’s novel-like career. Hey, if there’s an injury, Smith still could be the guy facing all these familiar antagonists, but I never project injuries.

We’re going through the Looking Glass into the Alex-Alternate-Universe. Here’s what could’ve been..

* This week in the divisional round, the 49ers play Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers–whom the 49ers passed on to select Smith No. 1 overall in 2005 and then Rodgers fell to Green Bay’s No. 24 slot–is, of course, Green Bay’s MVP- and Super Bowl-winning QB.

Rodgers, you might have heard a time or 20,000, was not pleased by the 49ers’ choice, and he was correct to be displeased. He’s doing great where he is and has been doing great for a while, but still…

Smith and Rodgers are forever grouped together by their 2005 fates–Rodgers was the cocky Cal product the local team didn’t want, Smith was the young, nice San Diego kid out of Utah who was thrown to the wolves as the No. 1 pick–yet they’ve never played a significant (playoff or crucial playoff-berth-deciding) game against each other as starting QBs.

And still won’t.

After beating Rodgers in Week 1 at Lambeau this year–pre-Smith benching–what would a victory over Rodgers in a playoff game do for Smith’s permanent credibility here and around the league? You know what, you absolutely know.

* If the 49ers win Saturday they would move to the NFC championship game where they could possibly face Atlanta and Mike Nolan, who drafted Smith No. 1 overall as his first huge personnel move upon taking over the 49ers, is now the much-lauded defensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons.

Nolan took Smith because he liked his attitude, then a few years, many losses and one bad shoulder injury into their relationship, Nolan soured on Smith–and when Nolan soured, it all went to hell.

Smith told me last year that he and Nolan are fine now–that they understand things got out of hand due to the pressures of all the losing but they still basically like and understand each other.

But in a playoff situation, think Nolan would want to come up with some blitz schemes against Smith, who got rattled so often when he was Nolan’s QB?

Think Smith would like to step into a few deep balls and beat a Nolan defense and prove that Nolan’s knowledge of QB play was slightly less than ideal?

But… no.

* If the 49ers win and Seattle beats Atlanta, the 49ers would face Seattle and personnel exec Scot McCloughan, who was Nolan’s top personnel man in 2005 and defended Smith through much of his struggles under Nolan and Mike Singletary.

McCloughan is a Smith supporter, not a foil, so this one wouldn’t have the frission of the other alternate-match-ups. But it’d be interesting.

* And if the 49ers got to the Super Bowl, they could very well face Denver and QB Peyton Manning, whom the 49ers pursued (or
“evaluated,” in Jim Harbaugh’s goofy explanation) last off-season to potentially supplant Smith.

In the Alt-Alex Universe, Smith has backed up his great year last year with another great all year (maybe something like a 70% completion rate?), won two playoff games, and moved the 49ers to the Big Game, where he faces Manning, the guy his team wanted ahead of him the previous summer.

That would’ve been quite a Super story-line. But the 49ers went another direction–their call, and as I’ve said, I can absolutely understand why Kaepernick is the QB now.

Yes, Kaepernick has his own story line. We’ll be writing about it a lot.